Donors extend the Uni season deep into fall

Last month, I asked for your help, via our email newsletter, to fund an extension of our season in Chinatown and Harlem. We have great staff running reading rooms in two deserving locations—why stop?

You answered with a roar, and I’m pleased to announce that we’ll offer open-air reading rooms in New York through election day. Be sure to vote, but when it starts to hit the fan, please escape with other New Yorkers to Chinatown or Harlem as we read and draw together. Citizenship takes many forms…

In Harlem, your Uni reading room will be run by the indomitable Leah Kaplan, a Uni Project veteran and perfect host for Harlem. She has helped build a special collection of books for the neighborhood, with donations from Feminist Press, The Fire!! Press, and National Museum of American Indian. With support from New East Harlem Merchants Association, Leah is creating reading rooms all along 125th Street. When I can’t read another election news article, I run uptown and join Leah for the afternoon, and I remember why… Thanks Leah!

In Chinatown, you will meet Joeyee Yan, a recent grad of Brooklyn Tech, who brings our portable drawing studio (DRAW) to our most crowded location: Chinatown. Her outstretched hand is there before a single pencil hits the ground—she is a calm, welcoming force in a chaotic world. Seriously, on Joeyee’s day off, Leslie and I worked this busy location, and I barely survived. When you feel adrift, visit the Uni in Chinatown and remember why you moved to New York. Thank you Joeyee.

Together, these two outstanding young women are creating two special oases at both ends of Manhattan. And of course, Leslie is there too, wrestling our busy streets into a beautiful scene that that made someone yell “I love this damn city!” as he passed on a bike the other day. See you there, and thank you to our lovely donors listed below.